Good riddance to the compulsory retirement age

Compelling useful workers to retire makes no sense for a business, says Ruth Spellman Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

What a difference a day makes. The day that made all the difference to the UK economy last week was Tuesday; emergency Budget day.

I didn't envy the chancellor. Trying to balance the books and make inroads into reducing Britain's enormous deficit, while simultaneously attempting not to alienate huge sections of society, must have made for several sleepless nights.

From a careers perspective, I was thrilled to see that the compulsory retirement at 65 is no more. That's not to say that I want to force people to work forever, but abolishing this nonsensical law which forces employers to get rid of talented and committed staff can only be a good thing. Blowing out the candles on your 65th birthday cake shouldn't mean turning the lights off on your career.

It has long represented an old-fashioned idea of age and what motivates different people as they get older. I know people approaching retirement age who have been forcibly retired from jobs they love much to the chagrin of them and their colleagues.

Working later in life may also be an effective way to ward off Alzheimer's disease. A recent study by the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London found that the intellectual stimulation that older people gain from the workplace may prevent a decline in mental abilities, thus keeping people above the threshold for dementia for longer. As well as the obvious benefit to the individual, there's a potential saving for the state too; dementia is estimated to cost the UK economy £17bn a year.

And, from a business perspective, with a rapidly ageing population we can't afford to treat older workers as dispensable. Compelling useful workers to retire makes no sense for a business, no matter its demographic. Business needs talent not stereotypes and prejudice based on age.

Research has shown that older workers tend to be more loyal, compared to Generation Y who appear to move jobs more readily, so investing in their skills development is money well spent. But it's going to be the forward-thinking employers who are flexible enough to accommodate this older workforce who will get the best from them.

What do you think about abolishing the retirement age? Does your company do enough to support older workers and keep their experience in the business?

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